


Fragments to form a Star

by LollipopHime



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Character Development, Establishing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, Iori is a jerk at first, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Idol AU, Riku is always cute lol, Sick Riku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22672936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LollipopHime/pseuds/LollipopHime
Summary: “Look, let’s end things here. You and I are never going to get along.”Nanase Riku meets a stressed office worker named Izumi Iori. While Iori does not believe they can get along, Riku thinks the opposite. He gives Iori a strange pendant, hoping Iori would get the message…
Relationships: Izumi Iori/Nanase Riku
Comments: 6
Kudos: 65





	Fragments to form a Star

It was another tiring day at work. The man is glad it was over. There were too many problems during the major meeting that he felt like he could have exploded at any time. He does not get paid enough for his effort. If only he could find a better job, he would have resigned since day one. Life as an office worker is hard, or at least it is for Izumi Iori.

The man sighs as he walks into a park that is a shortcut to his home. As usual, Iori walks fast without appreciating the pretty autumnal scenery around him. He just wants to get home, eat something and throw himself on his bed.

The park is not exactly lively, so the only sound Iori hears is the one he makes. The sound of the crunching leaves, though annoying, is better than any voices inside his head. He keeps walking with his head down, going through the exact same paths he takes every day. He will get home soon. He will be on his bed soon.

_Cough Cough!_

Suddenly, Iori stops in his tracks. Perhaps he is too focused on getting home that he is startled by a typical random noise around him.

Except, that noise is not so typical.

Iori turns his head to the left to see a red-haired man sitting on a bench with his hand covering his mouth. The man’s face scrunches up in pain as he coughs his lungs out.

Iori’s first thought is that he should not have looked. Then again, seeing how the man struggles, he would feel bad walking away and pretending he did not see anything. Iori decides he had better ask since the man does not seem to be getting any better.

Iori walks forward until he is standing right in front of the stranger. Bending down a little, he asks “Hey, do you need help?”.

The stranger moves the hand that was covering his mouth to his chest. He pants heavily as the coughing fit calms down for a moment. Struggling to speak, he finds a single word that he hopes would alert Iori about what he needs. “...I-inhaler”

Fortunately, Iori understands right away. He sits down right next to the stranger. “Okay. Where do you keep it?” He sees that the stranger pats his shoulder bag with the other hand. Iori does not hesitate to open the bag. There does not seem to be a lot of stuff inside so Iori sees a flash of blue almost right away. He takes the inhaler out, shakes it well and pulls the cap open.

The stranger seems too weak to use the inhaler himself so Iori shifts closer to him, locates the medicine in front of his mouth. “I’m going to press it. 3, 2, 1…” Iori presses the inhaler. The stranger inhales a faint white puff that came out before holding his breath and letting it out a few seconds later. Iori gives some time for the man to calm down. A good thing he does not seem to be in pain anymore.

“Thank you for helping me” A man turns to face Iori. He gives the office worker a bright smile that Iori feels his heart just skipped a beat.

Iori clears his throat after realising he has been staring at the man. “* _Ahem*_ I-it’s not a problem” He returns an inhaler to the stranger before quickly getting up. “Do take care” He leaves without waiting for any responses from the man.

The man clutches the inhaler in his hand as he sees Iori walking away from him. “I didn’t even get his name” His face shows a light tone of pink. Iori is good-looking. He might have been charmed by those cool gaze he caught a glance at. Although at the very least, he is not the type to accept an act of kindness without repaying it.

~~

The next day, at around the same time as yesterday, the stranger returns to the park. He sits at the very same spot he was at yesterday, hoping to meet his hero. He holds a box of chocolate close to his chest. He could feel his heart beating fast. Something about this makes him so nervous.

The man sees his light of hope when Iori enters the scene, walking as fast as the time he left yesterday. In order to get Iori’s attention, the man shouts. “U-um hey!”

Iori suddenly stops in his track again. He turns his head to the left to find a man whose face is as pink as the box he has in his arms. Iori could ignore him and walk away, but he has no reason to do so. He decides to approach the man the same way he did yesterday.

“Hello” Iori keeps his cool when actually the man in front of him has such a pretty face. He feels he could melt if he kept staring at those matching red hair and eyes. “Do you need anything?”

“Um here!” The man squeezes his eyes shut when he hands out a box of chocolate to Iori. The box is so close to Iori’s face that makes him take a step back in surprise. “It’s for helping me out!”

Iori is confused now. He is not sure whether he should accept the gift. “You didn’t have to. I only helped because you seemed to be struggling”

The man reopens his eyes. “Well, I could have died” No, he is not exaggerating. “I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to pass out. Then you came”

Iori sighs. Might as well just take the gift and go. He reaches his left hand to grab the box. “Well, thank you” He is unsure of what to say next. Leaving suddenly like yesterday would be awkward with a gift in his hand.

Luckily, the stranger is not done talking. “Can I get your name?”

“Izumi Iori” Iori answers without thinking much.

Riku gives him a lovely smile. “Iori. What a nice name! I’m Nanase Riku!”

Iori frowns in return. “Do you go around complimenting people just to make yourself sound nice?” After all, Iori is a common Japanese name. Hearing another Japanese man saying it is nice sounds sarcastic to him.

However, that does not seem to be the case. Riku’s eyes widen in disbelief. He looks hurt. Iori instantly feels like he was punched in the gut. “Hey that’s rude! I meant it when I said it sounded nice. Why would you say something like that?”

Iori can see the man’s eyes becoming watery. The office worker cannot help thinking that if Riku is not overly sensitive, then he is a total idiot. Not wanting to get involved any further, he ends the conversation. He hopes that would be the end to their future meetings as well. “Thanks for the gift. I’ll take my leave now. Do take care” With that, he storms off.

Riku pouts. “Hmph! What a jerk.” Maybe he has read too many romantic fantasy books that he convinced himself that was his fairytale meeting.

~~

For the next three days, Riku has never come to the park. Iori thinks he is gone for good. Although he would be lying to say he is not feeling at least a bit guilty. He knows himself to be grumpy and realistic at best. People at work call him pessimistic and judgmental, which is not too far off. Iori is a tired man, and that tiredness makes him even more unhappy. That being said, he has no right to upset a stranger who just wanted to express his gratitude to him. Iori lets out a big sigh for the hundredth time today while walking home.

“Iori!”

A voice calls out to him once he reaches the last section of the park. Iori looks at the bench to find no one is sitting there. That is because Riku is standing in front of him, waving and smiling to him. He approaches him with a frown on his face. “You. What are you doing here?”

“I have a name, you know?” With hands on his waist, Riku pouts.

Iori sighs. Again. “Nanase-san. There, happy now?”

“Good!” Riku nods in approval. “You can just call me Riku though”

“Nanase-san” Iori thinks that is never going to happen.

“Ugh fine” Riku rolls his eyes before returning to his cheerful mode. “How was the chocolate?”

“I prefer dark chocolate…” Iori is about to say it was too sweet for his liking when guilt punches him in the gut. Riku’s smile is disappearing, reminding Iori that he has been nothing but a jerk to this strange stranger. “...but the texture was very smooth. Guess I can make an exception from time to time.”

Riku’s mouth turns into an ‘o’ shape. “So Iori can compliment too huh?” He exclaims out loud.

Iori seems taken aback. “Do I seem like such a bad person to you?” Sure, him being a realist can make him seem cold towards others, but he does know how to show respect.

“No, no” Riku shook his head and waved his hands swiftly in denial. “Sorry, It’s just- you know, um” The redhead becomes fidgety, holding the hem of his t-shirt. “You never really smile so I guess you can seem kind of...hard to approach”

“But!” Riku suddenly grabs Iori’s wrists, startling the boy. “I think Iori is kind. You helped me, and when I called out to you again, you asked if I need anything” His face flushes pink.

“A-Anyone would have done the same thing” Iori wants to shake his wrists free. He is not used to anyone touching him, but the man in front of him is too cute beyond words that he feels his strength leaving him. He can only look away, blushing.

“A-ah sorry!” Riku suddenly releases the grip when he realises he might be making Iori uncomfortable. Iori’s arms flop to his sides as if he is lifeless for a quarter of a second.

“Don’t worry about it, Nanase-san” Iori shakes his head slightly to regain his composure. “Um, I should head home now…”

“Ah yes of course” Riku takes a step back. “Will you be here again tomorrow?”

Without thinking much, Iori nods before walking away. Riku waves his hand until Iori is no longer in sight. “Ehehe~ I get to talk to him again” He makes a ‘yes’ pose as it is not everyday Riku gets to meet someone new. He works part-time as a salesman at a small chocolatier in the bustling city. Most customers are regulars, but they are just that: customers. Riku has been dying to make a new friend other than his kind employer, Tsunashi Ryunosuke. The time he does not work? He spends it in a hospital thanks to his severe asthma.

“Tadaima” Iori steps into a quiet house in the city. The only thing on his mind right now is that stranger. Why is Riku talking to him? Does he have some kind of fishy motive? Iori shakes his head. He strips and decides to get a shower. As the water hits him, he looks down at his wrists where Riku grabbed earlier. Even though he did not like contact, it felt nice. Riku seems sweet, so he would like to think the guy is only randomly talking to him. It is not like he is asking Iori for any personal details anyway.

~~

It bugs Iori more than it should when Riku does not appear at the park at all this week. Just why did the guy ask him if he would be here again when he is not going to show up? He tries to tell himself that they are not friends who are supposed to meet up or anything. Riku can do whatever he wants.

And then there Riku is today, singing a heartfelt song with his beautiful voice in front of the bench. The office worker’s heart defies every logical thing he has on his mind. Riku expresses passion behind every sentence, drawing Iori in completely.

The redhead stops abruptly when Iori’s steps on dried leaves become loud enough to distract him and get him out of the zone. He turns to smile at the enchanted office worker. “Hey, Iori”

“You” Iori cannot quite snap out of his zone yet. “Your voice is beautiful”

Riku blinks twice before his brain registers he has just received a compliment. When it does, he blushes. “Uwah thank you!!” As if his body has its own mind, he lightly tugs Iori’s upper arm. “Ne, want to grab a quick meal together?”

~~

Iori ended up saying yes to a meal. He does not have anything to do after work anyway. Plus, he knows this city like the back of his hand. He can escape and call his senior at work, Nikaido Yamato, should the worst happen. Other than sudden body contacts, Iori does not seem to mind being with Riku.

Not wanting to think too much about where to go, Iori suggests they go to Yamamura Soba a few hundred metres from the park. That place is not too cramped or too busy. Plus, their soba is to die for, according to Iori.

Once they have decided, Iori takes the lead. He starts walking very fast to the park exit. Like, so fast Riku feels like he has to run to catch up to the guy. “W-wait!” The redhead shouts for Iori to stop once they are in front of the park’s gate. He has his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “C-can we go...a bit slower?”

“Sorry, are you okay?” Worry shows on Iori’s face. Riku soon stands up straight and smiles at him. “Yeah. I’ll be fine if we go a bit slower.”

~~

Sitting at the restaurant, Riku asks Iori a few questions, mostly about the man’s life. He finds out Iori is a 22-year-old office worker who seems to be under a lot of stress. Iori hardly ever smiles or laughs. He can go on forever talking about bad points about his work projects, the city or anything really. He rambles on like he has been bottling things up for centuries. It is also revealed that Iori does everything such as walking and eating quickly so he would have more time to rest at home. He has already finished his large bowl of soba five minutes after the order arrived.

Riku is so surprised he can hardly eat the soba in front of him even though it is giving off a pleasant aroma. Do not get him wrong, for Riku has not changed his mind about Iori being a kind man. To him, Iori appears to be suffering from his judgemental shadow self. Every time Riku tries saying ‘maybe it’s not that bad’ or something along that line, it would get shot down by Iori in an instant. Just now…

_“I can’t believe he is hired when he can’t even do simple tasks” Iori complained while inhaling soba in front of him._

_“Ahaha…” Riku laughed dryly, still keeping his smile. “It’s his first day after all. Maybe he is nervous-“_

_”No, he is a total idiot.” Iori cut Riku off completely._

Riku sighs internally, feeling kind of awkward and uncomfortable. He is over the moon about having made a new friend yet his friend here is not so happy.

“What about you, Nanase-san?”

Riku is snapped out of his train of thoughts when Iori pushes the bowl away and directs his full attention to Riku. Oh sure, if Iori had to talk about himself, then Riku would also need to do the same.

Iori has realised he had been talking too much. It is somewhat embarrassing so he decides it is time for him to shut up.

“Who are you? Why do you keep talking to me? Do you work? Or are you a student?” Iori bombards Riku with questions.

“Whoa slow down, Iori!” Riku almost drops his chopsticks on the floor. “I can’t answer if you keep talking like that”

“You’re right. Okay, go on then”

“I work part-time at a chocolatier. I’m living with my brother who is studying medicine. Our parents work abroad, so Tenn-nii takes care of me”

Iori’s eyes widen. “Take care of you? Care to elaborate?”

“I have asthma, really bad asthma actually.” Riku keeps his small smile while talking. “So I’m always in and out of the hospital. Tenn-nii makes sure I don’t do anything to exert myself too much”

Iori frowns now. “That explains why you get tired easily. You should have told me. We would have got a taxi.”

Riku suddenly waves his hands in denial. “Wah-! No! It’s fine! Iori, I can walk for some time as long as I don’t go too fast.”

“A tough life you have there”

“Eh? You think?” Riku tilts his head in confusion. Iori has yet to get used to this ultimate cuteness. “Sure, my asthma always gets in the way. It’s painful when I have an attack, but overall I’m happy. I know what I can and can’t do”

The is that smile again, the one Iori does not understand. Just how cheerfully optimistic is Nanase Riku? “So when you haven’t been visiting the park this week…”

“Yeah, my condition worsened”

Iori sighs. How is this guy happy when he has a miserable life?

Riku looks at Iori worriedly. “Iori sure sighs a lot. Is something wrong?”

_Everything._ The office worker has had enough. Honestly, Riku’s overly positive attitude irritates him. They are the polar opposites, and polar opposites cannot stay together. He pushes his palms on the table and gets up. Riku is giving him that look of confusion and sadness. “Look, let’s end things here. You and I are never going to get along.” He takes the bill to the counter to pay, then leaves Riku alone in the shop. Riku tries to go after him, but his lungs stop him from doing so.

~~

Iori no longer takes the park route home. Riku has been going there every evening as long as he feels well enough to do so. He is upset a kind man like Iori decided to end everything like that. Riku is not sure what he is hoping for, but he does not want to pretend like nothing ever happened. Iori will always be a kind but stressed man who saved his life in his eyes.

Though he has to admit, it is hard. Even a naively optimistic soul like Riku can be disheartened when time becomes an obstacle. After two weeks of visiting the park and seeing no one, Riku gives up.

~~

One fateful day, Riku is working at the chocolatier as usual when he sees a customer stepping into the shop. “Welcome!” Riku beams until he sees the face of his new customer. “Iori?!?”

“Nanase-san?!?” Iori is just as shocked to see someone he is not so excited to see. He tries to remain calm and composed like another customer visiting a shop.

However, Riku seems to have a different idea. “Iori, where have you been?”

Iori sighs knowing something like this was going to happen. “I’m here as a customer. Please treat me like one.” A wave of guilt is paying him a visit again when he hears a soft gasp from Riku. Why is he always a jerk to a man who only wants to be friendly with him?

“O-of course, what would you like?” Riku asks with a sad voice. He is a terrible actor, that is if he is doing any acting at all. This is the third time Iori sees that watery eyes on Riku’s face that is caused by him.

Ignoring Riku’s feelings for the time being, Iori tells Riku he needs a box of 9 handcrafted chocolate. It does not matter which one, he said, pick one of each design. Iori watches as Riku carefully handles and packs the chocolate into a bow-tied box. Once he has paid, he is about to leave when Riku stops him. “Iori, please wait!”

Riku runs to the room in the back, grabs what looks like an empty silver shell of a star-shaped pendant and a tiny red bag before rushing back to Iori. “I want you to have these.”

Iori takes the pendant to feel it in his hand. It is quite large though pretty light. He then eyes the tiny bag in Riku’s other hand. “Care to explain?”

Riku opens that red bag to reveal one hundred pieces of shiny fragments. “These fragments, once fit into that pendant shell, will make it shine brightly and beautifully”

Iori frowns. “Your point?”

“I want Iori to have these.” Riku shuts the bag and put in on Iori’s empty hand. “Whenever something good happens in a day, I want Iori to put a fragment inside that shell”

Iori cannot believe what he is hearing. He shakes his head. “This is ridiculous” Why does he have to do this anyway?

“Consider them as gifts from me or for buying the chocolate” Riku smiles though only lightly. “Once you’ve completed the shiny pendant, I hope you’ll show it to me”

“Whatever” Iori rolls his eyes. He puts the box of chocolate and everything else in his work bag. “Have a good day, Nanase-san” He leaves the shop without saying anything else.

~~

Iori lies on his bed, holding an empty pendant shell in his hand above his head. Three days have passed since he received this bizarre gift. He has not put in any fragments because nothing ‘good’ has happened to him. Work has been nothing but troublesome every day. As long as no special events are happening in Iori’s life, nothing good is going to happen.

Frustration fills his heart every time Iori sees this pendant. It reminds him of Riku’s smiley face and his upbeat demeanour. Iori was sure he made it clear that he wants nothing to do with that guy. He can just ignore this whole thing, yet here he is getting angry over a silver pendant.

“I’m returning this.” He talks to himself as he puts the tiny bag of fragments and the pendant into a box. Life is already hard enough that he does not need extra worries.

~~

Iori visited the chocolatier in the morning before he went to work. He was hoping Riku would be there like the other day, but unfortunately, he was not. Instead, he met another man named Ryunosuke who said Riku was unwell. He thanked Ryunosuke before leaving, saying he would come back later. Ryunosuke was kind enough to tell Iori of Riku’s schedule.

Now, Iori is walking home after a long day at work. He takes the park route out of habit, forgetting about avoiding Riku. For the third time, he comes to a sudden stop when he sees a flash of red in the corner of his eyes once he reaches the last section of the park.

Riku is sitting on that bench, seemingly lost in thought. He has a paper on his lap, most likely a bag of medicines. He does not notice when Iori reaches his side.

“Nanase-san”

It takes a few seconds for Riku register someone is calling his name. “Tenn- ah Iori!” The redhead of course does not miss a chance to smile at his new friend.

Iori’s eyebrows drop a little. Riku’s voice sounds hoarse. His face is pale and his hands are shaking slightly.

“You...don’t look well” Iori takes an empty spot on the bench next to Riku.

“I’m fine, Iori. It’s just…” Riku stops to take a deep breath in. “...the effects of the medicines the doctor injected this afternoon”

Iori forgets about other things as worry fills his mind. “Are you sure you should be here on your own?”

“Tenn-nii is picking me up, though he is running a bit late. How was work?”

Iori chuckles “What are you, my mom?”

Riku puffs his cheek. “Hey, I’m only a year older than you. Oh!” The man stops pouting when something comes to his mind. “Ryuu-san texted me to say you were looking for me this morning. What’s up?”

Iori feels bad because Riku looks so excited. He was planning to give the pendant back to Riku and tell him to get out of his life, but now he hesitates. He considers dropping the second part of his mission. Iori takes a box out of his bag and opens it to reveal the pendant that is in the exact same state as when he got it.

Riku’s eyes widen. “Iori, you should have put like 3 pieces in there by now”

“Well, I can’t if nothing good has happened to me, right?” Iori closes the box and pushes it towards Riku. “This will get wasted on me. You should give it to someone else”

Riku takes the box. He opens it again. He takes out one tiny fragment and fits it into a pendant shell. He then puts everything back into the box and pushes it back to Iori. “Here, I started it for you. That piece is for getting to meet me today”

Iori looks up and down between Riku’s face and the box, confused. “What? How does that count?”

“Iori was finding me this morning and now I’m here. It’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Hah?” Iori looks at Riku in disbelief. “That’s way too simple.”

“And it’s just as simple as that!” Riku pulls one of Iori’s arms, makes him open his palm and places the box onto it. “It’s for you. Only you, Iori”

Iori sighs as he looks down at the box in his hand. “If you insist”

~~

The next morning, Iori takes out a pendant before work. He looks at it, thinking he would try and fill it in, just to get it over and done with. Then he can go back to having a normal life again.

He throws the second fragment in when he makes another perfect report presentation at a meeting like he always does.

The third fragment goes in when he helps a random old lady cross the road.

The fourth and the fifth fragments fit into the pendant when he receives compliments from his co-workers.

By the tenth, Iori realises that a ‘good’ thing in Riku’s book does not mean ‘special’ like in Iori’s head. Basically, it can be anything trivial that is leaning on the positive side.

Riku seems overjoyed when he met Iori by chance by the time Iori has managed to put in 15 fragments. _“How does it feel, Iori?”_

_“It’s fine, Nanase-san”_ is what he replied. It was a pain at first. All seemed pointless to him. However, now he feels somewhat lighter in a way he cannot describe in words. It is almost as if he is jinxing himself that every day he is living at least one good moment in it.

On the twenty-seventh day, Iori messes up at work, which is very unusual. He gets scolded. Of course, he feels terrible. As a person who has been doing everything perfectly in life, this is a huge failure. Iori goes back home and sits in front of his bed, hugging his knees. He cries for a good while. He gets up when he feels like he needs to wash his face. Before he could move, he sees a pendant on the shelf. Iori walks to grab it and clutches it in his hand. “I can’t put in a fragment today.”

In order to clear his mind, Iori grabs a coat on the hanger and heads outside. He is reminded that Winter is fast approaching with the blow of cold air hitting his face. Not knowing where to go, he figures he might as well get some dinner. As soon as he steps into his favourite restaurant, Yamamura Soba, he is greeted by someone he has met before.

“Good evening, Tsunashi-san” Iori greets him back. Ryuu invites him to sit together, which he accepts. Even though Ryuu’s smile is not as bright as Riku’s, they share the same kind pair of eyes. Iori almost cries again when they start talking about work. He ends up getting encouraged by Ryuu after he shares a bit about what happened today. He never knew he needed it so much. Not only he accepts that encouragement with gratitude, but Iori also reflects on himself. He thinks about how much influence one’s words can have on another. It reminds him of the things he said to Riku.

_Those must have been hurtful to him._

When Iori returns home, he grabs a fragment and fits it into a pendant. “If things are tough, then I have to make them better. Isn’t that right, Nanase-san?”

~~

Iori tries helping out new recruits at work. He scolds them but also compliments them when they deserve it. He complains about things around him as usual, but tries to say good things about them to balance it out. Surprisingly, it does not take any extra effort from Iori. He has always been judging and analysing things, so he only needs to widen his perspective a little more. Not only it has a positive impact on Iori’s performance, others around him welcomes this change too.

“Hey, Ichi” His senior at work approaches him and places a warm hand on his shoulder. “You seem cheerful lately. Did anything happen?”

“Cheerful? Me?” Iori’s eyes widen. That is one of the last words he thinks people would use to describe him. “And no, Nikaido-san”

“Or…” Yamato leans his head forward, close to touching Iori’s. “Have you found a beautiful lady to loosen you up?”

“What? No!” Iori’s face is as red as Riku’s hair.

“Ohoho Ichi, I’m very proud of you” Yamato double-slaps Iori’s shoulder. “Listen, you gotta go drinking with us tonight. I wanna hear all about it”

For the first time, Iori does not refuse. He has always thought drinking is a waste. He figures he would give it a chance this time.

~~

Iori places the 62nd fragment into the pendant. The star now shines brighter in the light as Iori holds it up above his head.

_”And it’s as simple as that!”_

Iori thinks of the person who gave him this pendant. That person gave him this new life. Iori is still Iori obviously, but how long has it been since he smiled at little things like this? Riku believed in his hidden kindness when he did not believe in it himself.

That is when he decides he wants to see Riku again.

~~

Iori’s heart dropped when he found out from Ryuu that Riku had been hospitalised since last week. He asked Ryuu for the name of the hospital. Ryuu hesitated at first seeing as he should not be handing out personal details of his workers. He went soft when Iori bowed and requested it.

Iori is now standing in front of a certain room in a hospital. His heart beats loudly as he looks at the white door in front of him. The nameplate does say ‘Nanase Riku’, so he is pretty sure he got the right room. He takes a deep breath in before knocking three times.

“Come in!” Iori slides the door open as soon as he hears a response. Riku sits up straight. He covers his mouth in shock when he realises a person entering his room is not a nurse, a doctor, or his twin brother. “Iori?!?”

“Nanase-san, how are you feeling?” Iori sits on a stool right next to Riku’s bed. Just like the other day, Riku does not seem well. Several tubes attach to parts of the redhead’s body.

“I’m-“ Riku’s response is interrupted by a small coughing fit. Iori places his hand gently on Riku’s back, hoping to comfort him. Riku does not know why he is getting kind of emotional from that warm touch.

The two sit quietly for a moment before Riku speaks with his quiet crackly voice. “I’m glad you came to see me”

Iori’s heart skips a beat when Riku’s face turns pink. It goes well with that small smile and lovely pair of amber eyes. “I’m here to thank you”

“Eh?” Riku tilts his head in confusion.

Iori smiles as he pulls a pendant out of his trousers pocket. It is nearly completed, with only a tiny gap for one more fragment. Riku’s eyes gleam when he sees a star shining in front of him. “That turns out to be more beautiful than I thought it would be” He exclaims in awe. He reaches his hand to grab it, but Iori pulls it away.

“Wait” The office worker takes the last fragment out of the red bag, shows it to Riku before fitting it into the pendant, completing a bright, gorgeous star. “This is for Nanase-san, for giving me the best gift of my life”

Riku smiles warmly at him as Iori explains his part. “I understand now that life can be fulfilling or draining depending on how it is viewed. Good moments are always there, you just don’t always see it.”

Iori stands up and pulls Riku into a hug. His body language tells everything. To Iori, it is a mean to show his deepest gratitude. To Riku, it is the best gift from a friend he could ever ask for.

“I’m sorry for all the horrible things I’ve said to you, and thank you, Nanase-san, for making my life so much better”

Riku welcomes that gentle embrace and slowly returns it to Iori.

“I’m happy for you, Iori.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hewlo Lovely People! Kenar here~! So there it was, an IoRiku oneshot! I was craving a soft IoRiku so I decided to write it but um knowing myself I can never write anything without a hint of angst. Oops... I hope you enjoyed it though ^^ 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated! Thank you for your support ><
> 
> My twitter is @kenarkrsun feel free to come talk to me ^^


End file.
